by Wade Faubert
“He’s going to kill her,” Dean muttered. He never thought it would end like this. He wanted a happy ending like he deserved—not this. Not to find his wife strangled to death. And… Sabrina? What would that bastard do to Sabrina?
Dean didn’t know how much longer Summer could survive before Percy would choke the life right out of her. He had to get there and stop it, but how, he wasn’t in any shape to put up a fight. He knew, at best, he’d only be an annoyance to Percy, so Dean opted for a less conventional means of attack. He pressed the pedal all the way to the floor and felt the car surge down the decline in the road, awkwardly steering the car while holding the house in his sights as the speedometer steadily climbed.
He could picture Percy and Summer fighting just outside that room and turned the car sharply at the last moment, sending it screaming from the pavement onto the grass, sliding toward the side window. The car hit the incline of the raised, manicured lawn and became airborne for a second before crashing into the side of the house, beside the window.
The impact sent Dean smashing into the steering wheel, knocking the breath from his lungs. Even with debris crashing down all around, he could feel the car continuing to move through the room, finally coming to rest as the inside wall gave way, wedging the car under the weight of the collapsed structure.
Dust and plaster filled the air, slowly dissipating as the wind carried it out the gaping hole and off on the strong winds. Pushing his body away from the dash and clearing the shattered glass from his body, Dean grunted and groaned, feeling not only like he’d been stabbed, but beaten and battered by a heavyweight fighter.
All of a sudden Dean remembered why he was there, stuck inside the crumbling walls of this beach house. “S—ummer!”
He opened the door, slamming it into the shattered remains of a dresser, then fought to slide out the opening and onto the floor. As he got to his feet, he realized what a mess the house was in. He’d destroyed the entire side of the building and smashed down the wall—the wall where Percy had been killing Summer.
Holding onto the car, Dean made his way around the back of the car, toward the hole in the sloping wall where a door once had hung.
He let go of the crumpled car fender and lurched for the door opening, grasping onto the jamb and staring through into the kitchen. The sight of Summer lying motionless on the floor sent a wave of panic through his body. He staggered across the room, tripping on his own feet and falling hard to the ceramic tile beside Summer.
“Summer…” Dean whispered, lifting her head from the hard floor and placing his face in front of her mouth. “Please… be alive.”
Her hot moist breath had never felt so good and he couldn’t stop the smile from engulfing his face as a tear fell, landing on her chin. He couldn’t stop the tears from falling. It’d been a long time since he’d felt this content. Dean stroked the blood soaked hair from her face and kissed her. It felt good.
Like magic, his touch brought her back to reality. Her one good eye snapped open and she looked around, taking in the whole situation.
“Sabrina?” Summer cried, struggling to get off the floor. “Where’s Sabrina?”
Dean tried to match the speed she was moving with, but he couldn’t. Suddenly he realized that he was in worse shape. The stitches had been ripped completely out, probably from the impact of the crash, and the blood was flowing pretty good. Summer was totally oblivious to his injury as she searched the house for any sign of Percy or Sabrina.
With Summer distracted, Dean headed for the kitchen counter and riffled through the contents of the drawers, searching for a cloth to plug the hole in his stomach. He had to stop the bleeding or he would drop soon and never get back up. The second drawer he opened, he found exactly what he needed, a small washcloth. He lifted his shirt and held it before the gaping hole, trying not to think of the pain he was about to endure, but it was impossible. He knew it would hurt—hurt like hell.
Summer limped across the room, stuck her head into the garage, then turned her attention to the open patio door. She muttered something about Percy going to the boathouse as she passed, totally oblivious to the fact that Dean was patching himself up.
Dean could barely make out her ramblings as she stepped through the patio doors and ran awkwardly toward the staircase at the back of the yard.
After catching his breath, Dean found some packing tape in the next drawer and began wrapping it tightly around his waist, sealing the washcloth inside his body and slowing the loss of blood. As he finished the roll off, he watched Summer hesitate briefly at the top of the stairs before cautiously disappearing over the edge.
He sighed at the sight of Summer, battered and beaten near death, charging after the person who’d hurt her. It was like she had not a care in the world about herself. She was more like her old self now than that cowering sack of flesh John Scott had left for dead, and it made him feel better knowing the old Summer was going after Sabrina.
Staggering toward the patio door, Dean eyed the black object under a chunk of plaster. He walked carefully around the damaged wall and bent slowly, then reconsidered and dug the object from the rubble with his foot. He recognized it immediately. It was Summer’s gun. He didn’t know how the hell she’d gotten her gun back, but it was definitely department issued.
Once the gun was free, Dean leaned over, feeling the tape tighten as he bent. He bit his lip as the pain spread throughout his entire stomach area, but continued stretching until his fingers felt the cold steel, then snatched the gun from the floor.
Standing and fighting to regain his breath, he held the gun before his eyes. The cold steel felt good in his hand. Suddenly Dean realized that if he had the gun, then that meant Summer didn’t.
Chapter 22
With her left eye swollen almost completely shut, Summer found descending the stairs was even more difficult. Her fear of heights had been bad, but add the dizzying effect of losing one side of her vision and it made her almost sick to her stomach to take each step. But Summer couldn’t slow down. She had to keep going after them, so she slid her hands down the railing, slipping and stumbling on steps that appeared to be closer than they actually were.
When the howling winds relented, she could hear the screams of a child sailing up the cliff side, stabbing her straight in the heart. Sabrina was down there and Percy was harming her.
Summer spit the taste of blood from her mouth, wondering what that sick fucker was doing to Sabrina right now and her head almost exploded with rage just thinking about it.
“Fuck the law!” Summer muttered, knowing Percy may have gotten the best of her back there, but only because he’d taken her by surprise. She felt her temper flare and had only one thing on her mind—Kill Percy!
“Fuck the trial by jury.” She knew Percy was guilty and was about to enact her own brand of justice on him, saving the taxpayers the burden of supporting his sorry ass for a life sentence behind bars.
Pausing, she reached for the ankle holster then her waist band, but there was no gun. She tried to think back. Tried to remember where she’d dropped it. Then it hit her hard. She remembered fighting to scramble across the kitchen floor after it.
“Shit.” Summer flung her blood soaked hair back from her good eye and hurried down the steps. She was almost to the bottom when she heard a sharp cry from within the boathouse. There was no mistaking it. It was Sabrina. She was crying from his hands. Hurt and scared enough to call for help.
“Don’t worry, baby,” Summer muttered, taking the steps two at a time. “Mommy’s coming—and Mommy’s gonna stop that son of a bitch!”
Leaping from the last few steps, she landed hard, feeling the pain shoot up her right leg, but fought the urge to accept the pain as real. It was nothing more than an annoyance to her right now. She could be running on a broken ankle for all she cared, because it wouldn’t make any difference right now. Pain only meant she was still alive.
Summer ran across the wooden deck connecting the stairs to the large b
oathouse and lunged at the weathered wooden door. She threw herself full force, shoulder tightened for the impact, toward the handle side of the door. The impact jarred her body, but it felt great. Felt like the old days when she and Nate would argue about whose turn it was to force open a locked door during a chase.
Today she won the tossup and felt relieved, hearing the shattering of aged wood splintering into a hundred pieces. The door flung open, slamming against the inside wall with a loud crack. She stumbled a few steps inside before regaining her footing. Percy stood over Sabrina’s tiny body, bounding her securely in tape, wrapping a final piece over her mouth. He stopped immediately, staring in shock at Summer.
“Let her go, you fucking son of a bitch!” Summer yelled, charging across the room straight at the man who’d caused her so much pain and anguish today. His eyes were wild, like a caged animal readying for the attack as he stood tall, holding Sabrina in his hands before him.
Summer cut the room in half when Percy launched Sabrina at her. The image of a bound child sailing across the room with no way of softening her impact was enough to stop Summer in her tracks. The terror on Sabrina’s face was enough to split Summer’s heart in two. She couldn’t let her fall to the floor. She had to save her from another ounce of pain.
Diving forward, she reached out her arms, praying she’d make the distance in time. Her eyes were locked on Sabrina’s and Summer wondered if she was strong enough to make the catch without dropping her.
The impact of the deadweight in her outstretched arms pulled Summer forward, causing her to lose momentum. Down she went, pulling Sabrina close, anticipating the impact. She crashed to the wooden floor with a bone jarring impact that knocked the wind from her lungs. Summer grasped wildly, feeling Sabrina bounce, and gripped her sides tight as they slid across the wooden planks.
After drawing her close, Summer never thought it would feel this good to hold her daughter again. She knew she would cherish this moment for the rest of her life. Quickly she pulled the tape from Sabrina’s mouth, and after scurrying to the sitting position, cradled her like a newborn.
“Oh, baby,” Summer kissed her face, smearing traces of blood across her cheek. “You’re okay.” She began removing the tape from around her body. “I missed you so much, baby. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I’d lost you.”
There were tears in Sabrina’s eyes as she raised her freed hand and gently touched Summer’s swollen eye. Summer tried not to react to the touch, but she flinched with the pain. “He lied, Mommy. He said he would never hurt me. He said he would never hurt you.”
“It’s nothing. Just a little scratch.” Summer finished unwrapping the tape, listening to the commotion in the boathouse as Percy was destroying the place, searching for something.
She set Sabrina down on the floor. “You stay right here. Mommy needs to have a little talk with him.”
“No—don’t go!” Sabrina stood, grabbing onto Summer’s sleeve. “Don’t leave me.”
“I’ll be right back. You stay right here. I need to make sure that bad man doesn’t hurt anybody else. You wouldn’t want him to hurt any of your friends, would you?”
Sabrina shook her head reluctantly.
“Go hide in the corner over there. And if he comes back before Mommy, then keep hiding until the police show up.”
“Officer Nate?” Sabrina muttered while walking slowly toward the corner.
Summer nodded, even though she knew Nate wouldn’t be coming to the rescue today. “Or another officer.”
When Sabrina was safely in the corner, Summer ran to the door that Percy had disappeared through a few seconds ago. She stood searching the large dark room, listening for any sign of the bastard. It wasn’t until something fell in the connecting room to the left that she ran to the door and threw it open.
Percy was standing at the side of the boat with the keys in his hand. The room had been ransacked, torn apart like a tornado as he searched for the keys to the getaway boat. The waves rolled under the boat launch door, lifting the boat high inside the stall making it almost impossible for Percy to gain entrance onto the vessel.
Summer charged across the wooden platform, racing straight for the large man who’d decided it was better to run away than face the consequences of a pissed off mother. His hands were grabbing onto the side ladder, pulling himself up off the platform when Summer slammed into him, knocking him against the boat and causing his left hand to slip from the ladder, flailing helplessly in the air.
Percy kicked wildly as he fought to regain his grasp on the ladder, connecting his right foot to Summer’s ribs. The sharp pain exploded in her side, but she refused to stop. She stumbled backwards a step then lunged forward, grabbing his leg from the ladder and flinging it back, ducking down as it careened just above her head, missing by only a fraction of an inch. Summer waited until his leg had passed her head, then popped up and slammed her fist with everything she had into his groin.
His body crumbled with the impact, dropping down a rung on the ladder. Summer planted her feet and wound up a second time, landing a full blow to his balls and bringing him dropping to the platform like the catch of the day. She pounced on top of him, wrenching his head back, away from his chest, and began landing blow after blow to his face.
Summer landed a series of punches, bringing blood oozing from his flattened nose and thought the fight was about to be over when a large wave came splashing through the end door, racing under the platform and slashing up into her face, washing the blood from her forehead down into her eyes.
The mixture burned, blurring her vision.
Percy took advantage of the lapse in her attack, swung his massive arm, knocking her off to the side against the boat. Summer felt the surging boat sliding against her head and fought, gripping for the platform, trying to pull herself away from the massive boat before her head became trapped between the boat and the platform. The boat rose on the wave high in the stall, smashing against the hoist above and falling down hard against the platform as Summer rolled away. The impact rocked the platform, cracking a few boards where Summer’s head had been a moment ago.
Summer hurried to her feet, watching as Percy tried to climb the ladder while holding onto his crotch like his balls might fall off at any moment. She bent down, gripped the cracked board and pulled with everything she had. The far end of the board came loose, but it remained secured with long bent nails at her feet. She kicked and cursed the board, wrenching it with everything she had.
Percy was halfway up the ladder when the board finally came loose. She stepped to the side, swinging the board with everything she had. It landed in his ribs, knocking the cell phone from his pocket, down to the side of the platform. With the air knocked from his lungs and his feet slipping from the rungs, Percy was left hanging from the top rung, struggling to keep from falling.
Summer took a step closer and wound up, but stopped, staring at the end of the board. The long bent nails were protruding from the back of the board, sticking out wildly. Clenching her jaw, she flipped the board over in her hands then swung with everything she had. The nails sunk to the bone in his side, bringing a howl of pain from Percy as he let go of the ladder, falling flat to the platform at her feet, grasping his side wildly in an effort to free himself from the excruciating pain.
Summer stepped behind, placed a foot on his butt and pulled back hard on the board. Percy squirmed and squealed like a pig in the slaughter house, wiggling back, trying to keep the nails from sinking deeper in his body.
“Who are you working for!” Summer relented on the board for a second, but Percy refused to answer so she continued her attack, pulling back with everything she had. “Who ordered you to kidnap my daughter!”
“No—Nobody. I—I did—”
Summer jerked the board back then twisted it sharply to the side, bringing another howl from Percy as he tried to buck her off his back. “Tell me who ordered this or I’ll rip your fucking intestines from your body piece by fucking piece!�
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“They’ll…They’ll k—kill me if I do.”
Summer ripped the board with everything she had and the rusted nails sliced through his flesh, tearing his shirt wide open as the board came completely freed from his body, bringing an uncontrollable scream from Percy as he clenched his hand to the gaping hole in his side.
“I’ll kill you myself if you don’t tell me who the fuck it is!” Summer swung the board again, sinking the nails into his side just below where his blood soaked hand was clenched. He jumped with the impact, eyes snapping wide open and meeting hers. He seemed to understand at that moment just how serious she was.
“I didn’t hurt her. I—I was nice.”
Summer raked the nails through his side and stumbled backwards, staring at the chuck of flesh hanging from the nails. It brought a sickening feeling to her stomach. This wasn’t her style. She was the calm controlled cop. Nate—Yeah, Nate could pull this shit off. But even after everything she’d been through, slowly ripping the man to pieces was just out of reach for her.
“Get up!” Summer held the board over her head, ready to use it if need be.
“I—I can’t.” Percy curled into a ball, holding tight to his side. “It hurts too much.”
“You should’ve thought of that before you stabbed my husband.” Summer brought the board down enough to sink the nails through the skin on his back.
“You should’ve thought about that before you kidnapped my daughter.” She stabbed him again in the back, encouraging him to get to his feet.
“You should’ve thought of that before you gunned down John Scott.” One last poke and he slowly got to his feet, standing, doubled over in pain.
“No—No that wasn’t me. It was…”
“Who!” Summer sunk the nails into his shoulder, hearing footsteps running down the platform leading to the boathouse. She knew she was running out of time. Soon the police would arrive and she wouldn’t be able to strong arm Percy for information anymore.